SHIZUOKA, Japan – Nissan has its sights set on a strong Super GT season after completing testing at Fuji International Speedway in preparation for the 2018 season.
Two of Nissan's young stars shone brightly at the final pre-season test at Fuji Speedway: GT500 rookie Mitsunori Takaboshi and GT Academy ace Jann Mardenborough.
Preparing for his first full GT500 season, Takaboshi topped the times on the opening day of the test for Kondo Racing. He set a time of 1:28.055 aboard the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 he shares with João Paulo de Oliveira.
Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda's Motul Autech No. 23 entry was fourth fastest overall, ahead of Daiki Sasaki/Mardenborough (8th) and Satoshi Motoyama/Katsumasa Chiyo (12th).
Mardenborough set the GT-R pace on Sunday with a lap of 1:29.409 to be fourth fastest overall, ahead of De Oliveira/Takaboshi (4th), Quintarelli/Matsuda (7th) and Motoyama/Chiyo (9th)
"We've done a lot of testing with new-spec Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500," Mardenborough said.
"It's a big improvement over last year's car and after every test we've come away knowing what tires we want to run from Bridgestone. Our speed has been really strong and we've been towars the top of the timesheets in the past couple of weeks.
Added Mardenborough: "I'm really hyped for round one in two weeks and can't wait to get to Okayama. I feel really good about the season ahead."
The 2018 Super GT Championship begins at the Okayama International Circuit on April 7-8.
NISMO Calendar
April 7-8
- Super GT, Okayama International Circuit, Japan
- Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Symmons Plains Raceway, Tasmania, Australia
April 14-15
- European Le Mans Series, Circuit Paul Ricard, France
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Long Beach, California, U.S.
- Blancpain GT Series ASIA, Sepang, Malaysia
📸 Are you ready for some @SUPERGT_JP action in 2018?
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) March 26, 2018
Less than two weeks until Okayama. See the full testing gallery at: https://t.co/3F1bqnbZWv#NISMONation pic.twitter.com/W9MteRQVsR
Contact
Anna Teslik
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
+33 7 7614 7286
ateslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
1-678-644-0404
paul@nismosupport.com
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